(Augmentative Particles in Ibn Mu'tuq's Diwan: A Syntactic and Semantic Study)

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of grammatical augmentation in the Diwan of Ibn Maʿtuq al-Mūsawī al-Ḥuwayzī, one of the distinguished poets of the Ottoman period, who died in 1087 AH. The study focuses on additional particles, a grammatical phenomenon that has received considerable attention in Arabic grammatical works, particularly those concerned with particles and their functions.                                                  

       The study adopts a descriptive and analytical approach based on examining the Diwan and identifying the particles that occur as instances of grammatical augmentation, in accordance with the contexts recognized by Arab grammarians, including cases in which scholars have differed over whether a particle should be regarded as original or additional. The study deals with five particles: bāʾ, lām, lā, mā, and min. Their occurrences vary between obligatory and non-obligatory augmentation. Obligatory augmentation refers to cases in which removing the particle disrupts the grammatical structure, whereas non-obligatory augmentation refers to cases in which its omission does not affect the grammatical structure or the intended meaning .                                                                                       

         Describing these particles as additional does not mean that they are without meaning or function. Rather, some of them contribute to strengthening the structure and intensifying its meaning. For example, there is a difference between mā jāʾanī aḥadun (“No one came to me”) and mā jāʾanī min aḥadin (“Not a single person came to me”), as the negation in the latter is more emphatic than in the former. The same applies to the other additional particles examined in the study, whose grammatical use may contribute to greater emphasis and precision of meaning within the poetic context.